Forum for Science, Industry and Business
Sponsored by:     Siemens  n-tv 
Search our Site:

Topic (optional):

 

Home Reports Agricultural and Forestry Science Content

In-shell vaccine for chick disease

next article
05.01.2007

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) causes losses of £23.6M a year to the UK poultry industry but scientists are now developing a new way to vaccinate chicks against the disease - one that can be delivered while they are still in their egg.

 

A pre-hatching prototype vaccine virus which provides immunity to IBV has been developed by scientists at the Institute for Animal Health (IAH) and vaccine company Intervet UK. It can be delivered to chicks still in the egg (in-ovo) using robotic 'vaccinators'.


IBV is the worst infectious disease in terms of economic loss to the UK poultry industry. Infection can lead to severe respiratory disease, dramatically reduce egg production and affect the quality and hatchability of eggs.

The researchers, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Intervet UK, used a 'reverse genetic' system to produce new vaccine strains. Existing strains, which are usually delivered by less efficient spray or drinking water dosage, can prevent chicks hatching if delivered in the egg.

The scientists have extracted a so-called spike protein from a pathogenic virus strain which triggers an immune response, and incorporated it into a harmless non-pathogenic strain. Dr Paul Britton, Head of the Coronavirus Group at IAH Compton, explained, "This hybrid virus was able to induce immunity when inoculated before hatching. When hatched chicks were exposed to the virulent M41 strain, we observed protection rates of up to 100 percent. With the UK poultry industry sustaining losses of £23.6M a year to infectious bronchitis virus we hope that our research could have a real impact on improving yields for UK farmers."

"We are currently trying to modify the vaccine further, in collaboration with Intervet, to make it suitable for commercial use," said Dr Britton.

Professor Julia Goodfellow, Chief Executive of BBSRC, said: "BBSRC research into endemic UK animal disease has the potential to save UK farmers and consumers millions of pounds each year. IBV is one of the severe animal diseases that BBSRC supports research into, and the work at the Institute for Animal Health shows real promise in delivering tangible improvements on the farm."

Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.bbsrc.ac.uk

next article

More articles from Agricultural and Forestry Science:

nachricht Late Blight - the Irish Potato Famine Fungus - Is Attacking Northeast Gardens and Farms Now
03.07.2009 | Cornell University

nachricht New crops needed for new climate
30.06.2009 | Society for Experimental Biology

B2B Search

Product / Service
Company / Organisation

Latest News

The least sea ice in 800 years

03.07.2009 | Earth Sciences

Astronomer's new guide to the galaxy: largest map of cold dust revealed

03.07.2009 | Physics and Astronomy

Interferon alpha can delay full onset of type I diabetes

03.07.2009 | Health and Medicine

VideoLinks

Event News

New Worlds - New Solutions - Research and Innovation as a Basis for Developing Europe in a Global Context

29.06.2009 | Event News

6th BMBF Forum for Sustainability "Research for Sustainability - One Step Further"

19.06.2009 | Event News

2nd ISPIM Innovation Symposium - Stimulating Recovery The Role of Innovation Management

02.06.2009 | Event News